Illumise [QC 3/3] [GP 2/2]

<p>Illumise is adorable, and its battle cry is just as sweet. Unfortunately, Illumise doesn't have a lot going for it, as Prankster is the only thing that makes it viable. Thanks to Prankster, Illumise can utilize moves such as Baton Pass, Substitute, Tailwind, and Moonlight with priority to support its team before it gets KOed. Its Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense are above average, but Prankster makes its decent Speed pretty pointless. Illumise is a disappointment; its movepool is worse than Volbeat's, it's weak to Stealth Rock, and worst of all, its only boosting move, Growth, is illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise isn't completely useless though; if you can Encore a weak attack and support a teammate, Illumise's job is done. Use this for cool points, or don't use it at all—you must admit, it's extremely cute though.</p>

<p>Prankster is the only reason to use Illumise, but it works surprisingly well. Prankster, when combined with Substitute, Baton Pass, and Encore, turns Illumise into a decent team supporter. It can pass Subsitutes to teammates, and cripple slower opponents with Encore. It's recommended that you use Illumise as a lead as it is pretty frail, and its Stealth Rock weakness doesn't help it when switching in. Encore is what makes this set useful. For example, encoring a Fire-type move and bringing in a Flash Fire Pokemon, or bringing Jynx into a Water-type move can change the momentum of a battle. Wish receives priority and keeps Illumise healthy, while Bug Buzz can be used to hit the opponent with reasonable power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs listed attempt to make Illumise as bulky as possible. A specially defensive spread can be used with a Calm nature and 252 Special Defense EVs if you'd rather Illumise take on special attackers easier. Sunny Day and Rain Dance gain priority from Prankster, and combined with Baton Pass, Illumise becomes a decent weather supporter. U-turn can be used with Sunny Day or Rain Dance to give a teammate a safe switch in, but Illumise's frailty will get it KOed in most cases.</p>

<p>Pokemon that appreciate a Substitute, a safe switch in, or Encore support make good teammates. Frail Pokemon, such as Rampardos, Absol, and Jynx, are some good examples. Pokemon with Flash Fire, Dry Skin, and Sap Sipper appreciate Encored attacks, providing them with an easier switch in. Support from Rapid Spin helps keep Illumise around longer; Cryogonal and Sandslash are good choices; they can supply Rapid Spin support in addition to their good resistances and offensive typing. Dual screens can aid Illumise setting up, but it's usually not worth it for such a terrible Pokemon. However, Audino and Swoobat can set up dual screens if you're up to the task.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Illumise's movepool is nothing special, but it does have some interesting options. Toxic cripples bulky Pokemon, such as Miltank and Alomomola, and also receives priority thanks to Prankster. Fake Tears and Charm are fairly gimmicky, but thanks to Prankster they can lower the opponent's stats before they have a chance to attack. If you're lucky, Charge Beam can raise Illumise's Special Attack, which can be passed to a teammate. An offensive set can be used with Tinted Lens, Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power of your choice, but it's extremely underwhelming. Light Screen provides additional team support, but there are better dual screeners than Illumise. Tailwind can raise the team's Speed for two turns, but it's largely pointless; it's much easier for Illumise to paralyze the opponent with Thunder Wave. Growth can be used on an offensive set, but unfortunately it's illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise receives many oddities from Gen 3 and 4 such as Counter, the elemental punches, Body Slam, and Double-Edge, but most of them are illegal with Prankster. Finally, both Moonlight and Roost can restore Illumise's health, but Moonlight is preferred due to Roost being illegal with Prankster.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The best way to defeat Illumise is to Taunt it, as most of the time it'll rely on non-attacking moves. Prankster can be bypassed by some priority moves; Illumise is pretty frail, making it easy to revenge kill and take out with any super effective attack. Encore will also cause problems for Illumise, forcing it to repeat useless non-damaging moves. Illumise doesn't have a lot of attacking power, making it set-up bait for most Pokemon. Multi-hit moves, such as Rock Blast, can break Illumise's Substitute and KO it. Stealth Rock will take its toll on Illumise, so having it on the field will cause problems for our firefly friend. Illumise is incredibly easy to defeat, and it doesn't pose much of an offensive threat either.</p>

honestly, that weather set you mention in OO is probably Illumise's best shot at doing something interesting. BPing subs is silly, to say the least, when they're so small. With weather - especially rain - illumise becomes a lot less useless:

Bug Buzz and Thunder/SolarBeam aren't great on the weather sets because Illumise's common switch-ins are Braivary and friends (they'll come in on Rain Dance/Sunny Day and outspeed Illumise), and they don't benefit from Prankster. Illumise is just knocked out. Overall, I found it underwhelming when there are a LOT more Pokemon that use it much better, and Illumise can do it once before getting knocked out. Not to mention its Stealth Rock weakness. Either way, Baton Pass should be used on the set if QC agrees with it, but I didn't think it was great, I used it once or twice and thought 'meh'. If anything, Rain Dance and Sunny Day can be mentioned in AC of the Prankster set, because they aren't good enough for a set of their own imo.

honestly, that weather set you mention in OO is probably Illumise's best shot at doing something interesting. BPing subs is silly, to say the least, when they're so small. With weather - especially rain - illumise becomes a lot less useless:

Bug Buzz is STAB (even with its modest SpA, it at least has OK coverage; it hits absol too, which is nice), Thunder is strong and has a nice effect, and Thunder Wave gives it some utility in a pinch.

Click to expand...

I'm not too sold on a weather-inducing set, tbh. I mean, even though Illumise's Special Attack is better than Volbeat's, you still do mediocre damage especially when uninvested in a set like this. For example, Thunder only shaves off half of a 0/0 Braviary's health, and that's only if you manage to hit it on the switch-in because as Komodo said, it will outspeed and OHKO. Illumise gets okay coverage, yeah, but I really feel like it would be underwhelming outside of the ability to paralyze with Prankster Thunder Wave and obviously set rain. It probably is worth more than just a mention in OO (so yeah, go ahead and mention it in AC) just because Prankster weather is so deadly, but I'm under the impression that it isn't worth a full set.

I don't know why you'd use U-turn when Baton Pass gets priority because of Prankster...I suppose you'd move last to bring in a teammate safe, but Illumise would end up dead in most cases because it's slow without Speed EVs or anything.

Removals in RedAdditions/Replacements in (Green)Quick Comments in (Blue)Komodo is lazy in Orange / Every Color

Edits(Move your mouse to reveal the content)Edits (open)Edits (close)

[Overview]

<p>Illumise is adorable, and its battle cry is just as sweet. Unfortunately, Illumise doesn't have a lot going for it, and (colon)Prankster is the only thing that makes it viable. Thanks to Prankster, Illumise can utilize moves such as Baton Pass, (Substitute), Tailwind, and Moonlight with priority, and(to) support its team before it gets KOed. Its Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense are above average, but due to Prankster, (Prankster makes) its decent Speed is pretty pointless. Illumise is a disappointment; its movepool is worse than Volbeat's, it's weak to Stealth Rock, and worst of all, its only boosting move, Growth, is illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise isn't completely useless though; if you can Encore a weak attack and support a teammate, Illumise's job is done. Use this for cool points, or don't use it at all—you must admit, it's extremely cute though.</p> (was really tempted to replace all forms of "cute" with "worthless" but I didn't :I)

<p>Prankster is the only reason to use Illumise, but it works surprisingly well. Prankster, (combined) with Substitute, Baton Pass, and Encore, turns Illumise into a decent team supporter, passing Subsitutes to teammates, and crippling slower opponents with Encore. It's recommeneded(recommended) that you use this as a lead as Illumise is pretty frail, and its Stealth Rock weakness doesn't help it (when) switching in. Encore is what makes this set useful. For example, Encoring(encoring) a Fire-type move and bringing in a Flash Fire Pokemon, or bringing Dry Skin Jynx into a Water-type move can change the momentum of a battle. Wish receives priority and keeps Illumise healthy, while Bug Buzz can be used to hit the opponent with reasonable power.</p> (in debate over "encoring" but uncapped it based on "passing" for Baton Pass and because I couldn't quickly find any articles on-site that solved this question)

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs listed attempt to make Illumise as bulky as possible. A specially-defensive (no hyphens on -ly words) spread can be used with a Calm nature and 252 Special Defense EVs if you'd rather Illumise take on special attackers easier. Sunny Day and Rain Dance gain priority from Prankster, and combined with Baton Pass, Illumise becomes a decent weather supporter. U-turn can be used with Sunny Day or Rain Dance to give a teammate a safe switch in, but due to its frailty, Illumise will be KOed in most cases.(Illumise's frailty will get it KOed in most cases.)</p>

<p>Pokemon that appreciate a Subsitute, (a) safe switch in, or Encore support make good teammates. Frail Pokemon, such as Rampardos, Absol, and Jynx, are some good examples. Pokemon with Flash Fire, Dry Skin, and Sap Sipper appreciate Encored attacks, providing them with an easier switch in. Support from Rapid Spin helps keep Illumise around longer; Cryogonal and Sandslash are good choices,(semi-colon) (they can supply spin support) in addition to their good resistances and offensive typing. Dual screens can aid Illumise setting up, but it's usually not worth it for such a terrible Pokemon. However, Audino and Swoobat can set up dual screens if you're up to the task.</p> (unsure of "Encored" but it seemed more legitimate than "Encoring" so I left it. The sentence about RS support seemed to be lacking a clause post-comma so I made one up)

[Other Options]

<p>Illumise's movepool is nothing special, but it does have some interesting options. Toxic cripples bulky Pokemon, such as Miltank and Alomomola, also receiving priority thanks to Prankster. Fake Tears and Charm are fairly gimmicky, but thanks to Prankster, they can lower the opponent's stats before they have chance to attack. If you're lucky, Charge Beam can raise Illumise's Special Attack, which can be passed to a teammate. An offensive set can be used with Tinted Lens, Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power of your choice, but it's extremely underwhelming and weak. Light Screen provides additional team support, but there are better dual screeners than Illumise. Tailwind can raise a teammates Speed for two turns, but it's largely pointless; it's much easier for Illumise to paralyze the opponent with Thunder Wave. (concern: you mention Tailwind as a "good point" to Prankster in the Overview and then largely dismiss it here) Growth can be used on an offensive set, but unfortunately it's illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise receives many oddities from Gen 3/4 such as Counter, the elemental punches, Body Slam, and Double-Edge, but many of them are illegal with Prankster. Finally, Moonlight receives a priority boost, thanks to Prankster, and Roost can restore Illumise's health, but it's illegal with Prankster.(Finally, both Moonlight and Roost can restore Illumise's health, but Moonlight is preferred due to Roost being illegal with Prankster.)</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The best way to defeat Illumise is to Taunt it, as most of the time it'll rely on non-attacking moves. Prankster can be bypassed by (some) priority moves; Illumise is pretty frail, making it easy to revenge kill (and easy to take out with any super effective attack). Encore will also cause problems for Illumise, forcing it to repeat useless non-damaging moves. Illumise doesn't have a lot of attacking power, making it set-up bait for most Pokemon. Multi-hit moves, such as Rock Blast, can break Illumise's Subsitute and KO it. Stealth Rock will take its toll on Illumise, so having it on the field will cause problems for our (firefly) friend. Finally, Illumise is incredibly frail, so any super effective attack is sure to KO it. (moved up due to prior reference to frailty) Illumise is incredibly easy to defeat, and it doesn't pose much of an offensive threat either.</p>

<p>Illumise is adorable, and its battle cry is just as sweet. Unfortunately, Illumise doesn't have a lot going for it: Prankster is the only thing that makes it viable. Thanks to Prankster, Illumise can utilize moves such as Baton Pass, Substitute, Tailwind, and Moonlight with priority to support its team before it gets KOed. Its Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense are above average, but Prankster makes its decent Speed pretty pointless. Illumise is a disappointment; its movepool is worse than Volbeat's, it's weak to Stealth Rock, and worst of all, its only boosting move, Growth, is illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise isn't completely useless though; if you can Encore a weak attack and support a teammate, Illumise's job is done. Use this for cool points, or don't use it at all—you must admit, it's extremely cute though.</p>

<p>Prankster is the only reason to use Illumise, but it works surprisingly well. Prankster, combined with Substitute, Baton Pass, and Encore, turns Illumise into a decent team supporter, passing Subsitutes to teammates, and crippling slower opponents with Encore. It's recommended that you use this as a lead as Illumise is pretty frail, and its Stealth Rock weakness doesn't help it when switching in. Encore is what makes this set useful. For example, encoring a Fire-type move and bringing in a Flash Fire Pokemon, or bringing Dry Skin Jynx into a Water-type move can change the momentum of a battle. Wish receives priority and keeps Illumise healthy, while Bug Buzz can be used to hit the opponent with reasonable power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs listed attempt to make Illumise as bulky as possible. A specially defensive spread can be used with a Calm nature and 252 Special Defense EVs if you'd rather Illumise take on special attackers easier. Sunny Day and Rain Dance gain priority from Prankster, and combined with Baton Pass, Illumise becomes a decent weather supporter. U-turn can be used with Sunny Day or Rain Dance to give a teammate a safe switch in, but Illumise's frailty will get it KOed in most cases.</p>

<p>Pokemon that appreciate a Subsitute, a safe switch in, or Encore support make good teammates. Frail Pokemon, such as Rampardos, Absol, and Jynx, are some good examples. Pokemon with Flash Fire, Dry Skin, and Sap Sipper appreciate Encored attacks, providing them with an easier switch in. Support from Rapid Spin helps keep Illumise around longer; Cryogonal and Sandslash are good choices; they can supply spin support in addition to their good resistances and offensive typing. Dual screens can aid Illumise setting up, but it's usually not worth it for such a terrible Pokemon. However, Audino and Swoobat can set up dual screens if you're up to the task.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Illumise's movepool is nothing special, but it does have some interesting options. Toxic cripples bulky Pokemon, such as Miltank and Alomomola, also receiving priority thanks to Prankster. Fake Tears and Charm are fairly gimmicky, but thanks to Prankster they can lower the opponent's stats before they have chance to attack. If you're lucky, Charge Beam can raise Illumise's Special Attack, which can be passed to a teammate. An offensive set can be used with Tinted Lens, Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power of your choice, but it's extremely underwhelming. Light Screen provides additional team support, but there are better dual screeners than Illumise. Tailwind can raise a teammates Speed for two turns, but it's largely pointless; it's much easier for Illumise to paralyze the opponent with Thunder Wave. Growth can be used on an offensive set, but unfortunately it's illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise receives many oddities from Gen 3/4 such as Counter, the elemental punches, Body Slam, and Double-Edge, but many of them are illegal with Prankster. Finally, both Moonlight and Roost can restore Illumise's health, but Moonlight is preferred due to Roost being illegal with Prankster.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The best way to defeat Illumise is to Taunt it, as most of the time it'll rely on non-attacking moves. Prankster can be bypassed by some priority moves; Illumise is pretty frail, making it easy to revenge kill and easy to take out with any super effective attack. Encore will also cause problems for Illumise, forcing it to repeat useless non-damaging moves. Illumise doesn't have a lot of attacking power, making it set-up bait for most Pokemon. Multi-hit moves, such as Rock Blast, can break Illumise's Subsitute and KO it. Stealth Rock will take its toll on Illumise, so having it on the field will cause problems for our firefly friend. Illumise is incredibly easy to defeat, and it doesn't pose much of an offensive threat either.</p>

Hide(Move your mouse to the hide area to reveal the content)Show HideHide Hide

[Overview]

<p>Illumise is adorable, and its battle cry is just as sweet. Unfortunately, Illumise doesn't have a lot going for it:, as Prankster is the only thing that makes it viable. Thanks to Prankster, Illumise can utilize moves such as Baton Pass, Substitute, Tailwind, and Moonlight with priority to support its team before it gets KOed. Its Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense are above average, but Prankster makes its decent Speed pretty pointless. Illumise is a disappointment; its movepool is worse than Volbeat's, it's weak to Stealth Rock, and worst of all, its only boosting move, Growth, is illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise isn't completely useless though; if you can Encore a weak attack and support a teammate, Illumise's job is done. Use this for cool points, or don't use it at all—you must admit, it's extremely cute though.</p>

<p>Prankster is the only reason to use Illumise, but it works surprisingly well. Prankster, when combined with Substitute, Baton Pass, and Encore, turns Illumise into a decent team supporter,. It can passing Subsitutes to teammates, and cripplinge slower opponents with Encore. It's recommended that you use thIllumise as a lead as Illumiseit is pretty frail, and its Stealth Rock weakness doesn't help it when switching in. Encore is what makes this set useful. For example, encoring a Fire-type move and bringing in a Flash Fire Pokemon, or bringing Dry Skin Jynx into a Water-type move can change the momentum of a battle. Wish receives priority and keeps Illumise healthy, while Bug Buzz can be used to hit the opponent with reasonable power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs listed attempt to make Illumise as bulky as possible. A specially defensive spread can be used with a Calm nature and 252 Special Defense EVs if you'd rather Illumise take on special attackers easier. Sunny Day and Rain Dance gain priority from Prankster, and combined with Baton Pass, Illumise becomes a decent weather supporter. U-turn can be used with Sunny Day or Rain Dance to give a teammate a safe switch in, but Illumise's frailty will get it KOed in most cases.</p>

<p>Pokemon that appreciate a Substitute, a safe switch in, or Encore support make good teammates. Frail Pokemon, such as Rampardos, Absol, and Jynx, are some good examples. Pokemon with Flash Fire, Dry Skin, and Sap Sipper appreciate Encored attacks, providing them with an easier switch in. Support from Rapid Spin helps keep Illumise around longer; Cryogonal and Sandslash are good choices; they can supply sRapid Spin support in addition to their good resistances and offensive typing. Dual screens can aid Illumise setting up, but it's usually not worth it for such a terrible Pokemon. However, Audino and Swoobat can set up dual screens if you're up to the task.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Illumise's movepool is nothing special, but it does have some interesting options. Toxic cripples bulky Pokemon, such as Miltank and Alomomola, and also receivinges priority thanks to Prankster. Fake Tears and Charm are fairly gimmicky, but thanks to Prankster they can lower the opponent's stats before they have a chance to attack. If you're lucky, Charge Beam can raise Illumise's Special Attack, which can be passed to a teammate. An offensive set can be used with Tinted Lens, Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power of your choice, but it's extremely underwhelming. Light Screen provides additional team support, but there are better dual screeners than Illumise. Tailwind can raise athe teammate's Speed for two turns, but it's largely pointless; it's much easier for Illumise to paralyze the opponent with Thunder Wave. Growth can be used on an offensive set, but unfortunately it's illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise receives many oddities from Gen 3/ and 4 such as Counter, the elemental punches, Body Slam, and Double-Edge, but manyost of them are illegal with Prankster. Finally, both Moonlight and Roost can restore Illumise's health, but Moonlight is preferred due to Roost being illegal with Prankster.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The best way to defeat Illumise is to Taunt it, as most of the time it'll rely on non-attacking moves. Prankster can be bypassed by some priority moves; Illumise is pretty frail, making it easy to revenge kill and easy to take out with any super effective attack. Encore will also cause problems for Illumise, forcing it to repeat useless non-damaging moves. Illumise doesn't have a lot of attacking power, making it set-up bait for most Pokemon. Multi-hit moves, such as Rock Blast, can break Illumise's Substitute and KO it. Stealth Rock will take its toll on Illumise, so having it on the field will cause problems for our firefly friend. Illumise is incredibly easy to defeat, and it doesn't pose much of an offensive threat either.</p>

c/p(Move your mouse to reveal the content)c/p (open)c/p (close)

[Overview]

<p>Illumise is adorable, and its battle cry is just as sweet. Unfortunately, Illumise doesn't have a lot going for it, as Prankster is the only thing that makes it viable. Thanks to Prankster, Illumise can utilize moves such as Baton Pass, Substitute, Tailwind, and Moonlight with priority to support its team before it gets KOed. Its Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense are above average, but Prankster makes its decent Speed pretty pointless. Illumise is a disappointment; its movepool is worse than Volbeat's, it's weak to Stealth Rock, and worst of all, its only boosting move, Growth, is illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise isn't completely useless though; if you can Encore a weak attack and support a teammate, Illumise's job is done. Use this for cool points, or don't use it at all—you must admit, it's extremely cute though.</p>

<p>Prankster is the only reason to use Illumise, but it works surprisingly well. Prankster, when combined with Substitute, Baton Pass, and Encore, turns Illumise into a decent team supporter. It can pass Subsitutes to teammates, and cripple slower opponents with Encore. It's recommended that you use Illumise as a lead as it is pretty frail, and its Stealth Rock weakness doesn't help it when switching in. Encore is what makes this set useful. For example, encoring a Fire-type move and bringing in a Flash Fire Pokemon, or bringing Jynx into a Water-type move can change the momentum of a battle. Wish receives priority and keeps Illumise healthy, while Bug Buzz can be used to hit the opponent with reasonable power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs listed attempt to make Illumise as bulky as possible. A specially defensive spread can be used with a Calm nature and 252 Special Defense EVs if you'd rather Illumise take on special attackers easier. Sunny Day and Rain Dance gain priority from Prankster, and combined with Baton Pass, Illumise becomes a decent weather supporter. U-turn can be used with Sunny Day or Rain Dance to give a teammate a safe switch in, but Illumise's frailty will get it KOed in most cases.</p>

<p>Pokemon that appreciate a Substitute, a safe switch in, or Encore support make good teammates. Frail Pokemon, such as Rampardos, Absol, and Jynx, are some good examples. Pokemon with Flash Fire, Dry Skin, and Sap Sipper appreciate Encored attacks, providing them with an easier switch in. Support from Rapid Spin helps keep Illumise around longer; Cryogonal and Sandslash are good choices; they can supply Rapid Spin support in addition to their good resistances and offensive typing. Dual screens can aid Illumise setting up, but it's usually not worth it for such a terrible Pokemon. However, Audino and Swoobat can set up dual screens if you're up to the task.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Illumise's movepool is nothing special, but it does have some interesting options. Toxic cripples bulky Pokemon, such as Miltank and Alomomola, and also receives priority thanks to Prankster. Fake Tears and Charm are fairly gimmicky, but thanks to Prankster they can lower the opponent's stats before they have a chance to attack. If you're lucky, Charge Beam can raise Illumise's Special Attack, which can be passed to a teammate. An offensive set can be used with Tinted Lens, Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, and a Hidden Power of your choice, but it's extremely underwhelming. Light Screen provides additional team support, but there are better dual screeners than Illumise. Tailwind can raise the team's Speed for two turns, but it's largely pointless; it's much easier for Illumise to paralyze the opponent with Thunder Wave. Growth can be used on an offensive set, but unfortunately it's illegal with Baton Pass. Illumise receives many oddities from Gen 3 and 4 such as Counter, the elemental punches, Body Slam, and Double-Edge, but most of them are illegal with Prankster. Finally, both Moonlight and Roost can restore Illumise's health, but Moonlight is preferred due to Roost being illegal with Prankster.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>The best way to defeat Illumise is to Taunt it, as most of the time it'll rely on non-attacking moves. Prankster can be bypassed by some priority moves; Illumise is pretty frail, making it easy to revenge kill and take out with any super effective attack. Encore will also cause problems for Illumise, forcing it to repeat useless non-damaging moves. Illumise doesn't have a lot of attacking power, making it set-up bait for most Pokemon. Multi-hit moves, such as Rock Blast, can break Illumise's Substitute and KO it. Stealth Rock will take its toll on Illumise, so having it on the field will cause problems for our firefly friend. Illumise is incredibly easy to defeat, and it doesn't pose much of an offensive threat either.</p>